Trip Report
The trip started the day after Labor Day going north to Portland and then up the Columbia River via Crown Point, stopping for lunch at Bonneville Dam. We spent that night in Walla Walla, toured the town and met for dinner at the Modern (Chinese) Cafe.
Our second day started with a tour of the Whitman College Campus then we departed southward through Milton-Freewater, Weston and over the Blue Mountains to Elgin, then to the Wallowa River Park 2 miles down river from the highway crossing. The weather was fine so far. That afternoon we toured the historical museum in the old bank building. That night we spent at the Eagle Cap Lodge. We enjoyed a group meal at the nearby Hungarian Restaurant.
The morning of the third day found us going up the mountain on the cable car lift. We ate lunch at the top and walked and looked around. That afternoon we went back into Joseph and toured the displays of bronze castings, and after a short video we were welcomed at the foundry where they cast the artifacts. It is quite a complex operation and all of this was shown and explained to us. Large castings are done in several pieces that are then welded together. The weld is brazed so that one cannot detect the joint.
On the fourth day we drove down Little Sheep Creek to the Imnaha River at the village of Imnaha, then up the river stopping at a salmon hatchery where one of the workers described how they were managing the hatchery. Then we crossed the divide and met the main highway along Pine Creek. We turned eastward and viewed the Oxbow Dam and Reservoir and ate lunch in a very nice park. Then we drove into Baker City and visited the museum which was in an old natatorium. The museum was well worth a visit and it had an exceptionally good collection of minerals. It also had a large metallic meteorite on display. We had a pleasant place to stay with swimming pool and many took advantage of this feature.
On our fifth and last day we journeyed through the heart of Baker City and up Sumpter valley. We stopped at the train station and viewed their rolling stock that is used in the segment of the old railroad that has been resurrected. Then we viewed the dredge, which was not open to a visit, from behind a fence, then we walked through the town of Sumpter noting points of historical interest. From Sumpter we continued through Austin Junction and into the John Day valley by way of Dixie Mountain summit and through Prairie City to John Day where we had an appointment to view the Chinese Museum. It contained much of interest. We continued on to Eugene by way of a brief stop in Prineville City Park and on over Santiam Pass arriving in Eugene at 6:15.
Our good driver was Don Moorhead. Participants were: Murray and Wilma Agate, Kay Anderson, Margaret Baldwin, Helen Beck, Mary and Richard Bentsen, Ingrid Carmichael, Clair Cooley, Jane and John Corliss, Ardis Ebbighausen, Betty Hack, Herman Hendershott, Evelyn Hile, Jane Hilt, Miki Hutchison, Ray Jensen, Martha and Roland Johnsrud, Virginia Kapsa, Dee Kelley, Evelyn Knott, Bonnie Ledford, Frances Newsom, Janice Pattison, Lois Schreiner, Betty and Harvey Speck, Ethel Steussy, John Thompson, Louise Thurber, Hawk and Ruth Williams and Ewart Baldwin and Bill Eaton (co-leaders).
